Healthy Veggie or Chip dip

Judy suggested I post this since I made a batch when I was in Philly last week.  With the new year coming, I have got to lay off the sour cream, so Greek Yogurt is a decent substitute.  Sometimes I have just got to have a creamy dip.  I used Fage 0% Plain Greek Yogurt (You can find it at Trader Joes).

1 container of Fage greek yogurt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dill
1 Tbsp parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all together and taste.  Wait a few hours and the flavors are all melded together, but it's pretty good immediately too. 

Claire Yoder

Massaged Kale Salad - sooo Yummy!

Massaged Kale Salad

When Charlie, Amy and the kids came out to Portland for Chistmas 2011, we had this salad with dinner and the kids asked for seconds.  Its a great way to get the greens in! 

4 cups uncooked kale    1 tsp sea salt    1/3 cup sunflower seeds or any nut, toasted      1/4 cup uncooked red onion diced    1/3 cup raisins      3/4 cup fresh apples, diced   2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar    1 cup crumbled feta cheese    ·         Pour salt over Kale and massage with hands for 3 minutes. Kale will become brighter green after massaging. Add remainder of ingredients. Tastes even better the next day once flavors mix!  Adapted from a recipe found in Feeding the Whole Family. In this photo I put almonds in place of sunflower seeds, you can substitute any nuts on hand.  The feta is optional, but turns it into a meal instead of side dish. Claire Yoder

Just Got Home Frittata - or Kitchen Sink Frittata

Hello,
  We just got home from Philly yesterday and had very little food in the house, so for lunch I made a frittata from what was leftover in the fridge and some spinach. 

6 eggs (I did 3 eggs and half a container of egg whites b/c that's all I had)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 red onion
Olive oil or butter
2 Medium red potatoes (chopped into small pieces)
1 cup spinach
shredded cheese (I had Motzerella) - to sprinkle on top

- you could add whatever you have to this - leftover sausage, bacon or ground beef, any veggies, most recipes I have for this include lots of veggies, you could substitute garlic or shallots for onions, any cheese on hand, or you could go cheese-free too.

1. Whisk the eggs and add salt and pepper
2. Using a cast iron skillet or all metal skillet (you have to put it under the broiler, so a plastic handle won't work), saute the onion and potatoes in olive oil or butter over medium heat.
3.  Once the potatoes are almost done add the egg mixture and spinach stirring to combine in the pan. 
4.  Then let the mixture cook on the stove until the eggs have set up. Sprinkle with cheese and place under the broiler until top is lightly browned.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then cut and scoop out of the pan onto your plate!

Note: I immediately scooped the frittata out of the pan and it stuck somewhat.  When I went back 10 minutes later to put the leftovers away, the bottom came cleanly off the pan - so I recommended letting it cool so there is less cleanup. 

Enjoy!

Claire

Learning how to title

This is Uncle Wes learning to blog.

The Jersey Burger

The Jersey Burger is for the daring and courageous.  It is just the best burger.

INGREDIENTS

1 giant brioche bun from LeBus in Philadelphia, PA
1 massive, delicious burger
1 slice American cheese
1 slice pork roll
1 fried egg, sunny-side up
1 healthy slathering of beer mustard, which must have other ingredients in it, too, I reckon.

ALSO RECOMMENDED
1 chef to cook this for you at the Pour House in Westmont, NJ
1 large bib
50 napkins
1 uninterrupted afternoon of lounging and digestion
Most importantly, 1 awesome aunt with whom to enjoy it!

THE STORY
Being an aficionado, I was treated to several burgers over the course of a week this year for my birthday.  Aunt Judy took me to the Pour House where we experienced the Jersey Burger.  It may sound scary, but trust me, it was totally slammin'!  It was by far the best burger of the week, even surpassing the Texas Chili Burger at Propector's and the Caribbean Burger at Copa, which has jerk spices and mango chutney.  I mean, come on, you gotta love a burger when you bite into it and it drips all the way down to your elbow.  But the best part about the Jersey Burger was that it reminded us of Uncle Chuck, who had a fond dream of one day opening a stand on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ, and selling pork roll sandwiches!  Something about the tenor of the Jersey Burger also brought to mind the Lava Sandwich--also not for the faint of heart--which was invented by Charlie when he was a kid.  (You can read about it in an earlier post by him; just scroll down a bit.)  Aunt Judy and I had such a fun afternoon sharing family memories like that and just chillin' together.  What a birthday; what a burger.

~Post by Rachel Aline Glover; memory shared by Judy McGloughlin

Best chocolate coconut bars.  Ever.  I'm serious.

I made these for the first time this holiday, I am a terrible baker-- but found this not only unable to fail if you follow the directions-- but the best dessert thing you will ever want to eat ever again.

Ingredients

• 3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15-by-10-inch baking pan, or 2 smaller pans are fine too.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Cool, about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans, or chopped walnuts, or anything else you think would taste good-- and chocolate chips. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely. Sprinkle with coconut.
4. Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.
   
   -Mimi
   
   

Sloppy Daddy

This is when you need a hamburger quick but all you have is frozen meat and you dont want to take 12 hours to defrost it.  No, no, no -- the microwave doesn't work to defrost it -- it cooks it partially and have you ever tried to make a burger if the meat is already cooked?  Fall-apart-sville. And you burn your hand!  Forget it.  I say, just lean into the fact that the beef is going to be all apart and sloppy.  But its not all blecky like a sloppy joe and all complicated.  Its just a disintegrated burger.

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
onion soup
good buns
cheese
ketchup

1. place frozen meat right in pan and fry it up
2. when meat is half done add onion and onion soup mixture and stir
3. cook until meat is done and onions are al dente
4. take a scoop and plop on bun.  
5. while hot, place cheese on ground beef mountain on bun
6. lightly place bun top on bun.
7. serve this way and the cheese will melt on top of mountain

add ketchup, and or whatever you usually put on a hamburger.  the ketchup kinda holds everything together tho.  enjoy.
-charlie

food related jokes

Why is it the other seedlings in the nursery like to play with one mushroom but not a whole group of them?
Because when a mushroom is on its own its a really fun/gi/ but where there's a group of mushrooms they all act like spoiled/spores/!

-Eli McKay

Charlie's Egg Spread Which is Whipped Too Much

I tried to make "Rita's Egg Salad," named after this person at church who always brings in egg salad.  I always hated egg salad.  Then I heard people rolling their eyes on how good her egg salad was.  So I ate it.  Now I like egg salad.  So I got the recipe. I made it.  She had told me, don't use the food processor, you need to beat the salad for an hour.  I said, you know, pfft.  I'm using the food processer, Rita, get out of the 18th century here.  I used the processor. for waaaaaay too long.  I would have called this "Rita's Egg Paste" but I **know** she would disown -- yes disown -- any such attribution because I used the cockamayme processor.  So poo.  Here is my paste..  Beat it for an hour and it will make a much more standard Egg Salad.

20 Eggs, hard boiled.

4 heaping tablespoons of dill

2 heaping tablespoons of dry onion'

celery seeds to taste if you have them

1/4 cup mustard.  use more than you think

1/2 cup mayo.  More if you want to make egg salad and beat it for a stupid hour.  I mean you know what egg salad looks like for crying out loud.  Jeez.

Beat it in a processor until you realize you went waaay to far.  Look at it, nonplussed, with some slumped shoulders, and then get out some good rye, toast it, eat it and realize that its still pretty darn good.  then spill half of it on the floor, clean it up.  wait dont do that.  i did that.  didnt make it taste any better.

charlie

Hi Kids! Welcome to the Vaporized Roast Cooking Club.  I am happy to see you made it here to talk to me and the rest of the club.  Did you look at the recipe in your cookbook yet? Which one are you going to try out first?  Is there a new recipe you would like to see in the book?  I can't wait to hear your ideas.
                                                                            Grandmom/Aunt  Judy

Can any of you blog experts move the white words in the above picture over to the "About Me" section?  I can't figure it out!  Thanks,  Mimi